


Convoluted

by Chaos_Silk (CrimsonChaos)



Category: Final Fantasy IX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Character Swap, Gen, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-13
Updated: 2015-07-19
Packaged: 2018-04-04 04:05:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4124967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrimsonChaos/pseuds/Chaos_Silk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which the hero, the damsel and the villain have all switched roles, making the storyline completely different and yet somehow exactly the same. A retelling of FFIX where Garnet takes the role of the villain, Kuja stars as our 'hero' and Zidane is the damsel always in distress. Not meant to be taken seriously.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A long time ago one of my friends said to me: 'Hey, you should totally write a fic with Garnet as a villain and dedicate it to me.' and so I did, ending up with a fic that had a ton of world building and interesting characters. I didn't handle it as well as I should have and ended up rewriting it. Now I'm rewriting the rewrite because of reasons. Despite the fact that it's ancient and all over the place, I still love it and hope you will too. 
> 
> Cross-posted on FF.N while I rewrite it.

Lightning flashed over the stage and thunder rumbled, signaling the start of the play. As the tragedy was laid out before her, Queen Garnet smiled coolly, tightly gripping the hand of her soon to be Consort. This play had always left her mother in tears, bawling out about how sad it was. She had never understood it, baffled how someone would sacrifice one's life for another because of a little thing like love. In a way, it was fitting that this was the play chosen to be put on in remembrance of her mother, considering how she had met her end.

As far as the kingdom, as far as the world knew, she was the perfect daughter, absolutely devoted to her mother and her subjects. Reality was quite different; she cared little for the ants that made up her country and her mother? Well, the poison she had slipped into her cup had quite a bit to say about that. Soon the entire world would fall before her.

She genuinely smiled at the prospect, releasing her prince's hand to adjust her glove, watching the actors dance out at her command. "Are you enjoying the play?" She asked casually, finally looking at her captive. She had thought it very fitting that his black formal wear contrasted with her white gown as his blonde hair contrasted with her dark.

Prince Zidane of Lindblum had been promised to her since his adoption by her Uncle Cid and Aunt Hilda had been finalized. Their parents had wished for them to unite their two countries and end the endless wars that had plagued them since their founding. It had only been later when she had realized her true heritage that she had realized what he was. With him by her side, everything she wanted was within her grasp.

He smiled nervously at her, fiddling with his own gloves. "It seems to be a different adaptation from what I've seen before," he admitted quietly, eyes not on the stage but placed firmly on her. He had been acting strangely since he arrived, eyes watching her every movement as if expecting her to turn into a monster at any moment. Or, she smiled to herself, eyes growing cold, summon one.

Not that she would need to. Here in Alexandria, the seat of her power, all she'd have to do to damn him was lift a hand and point. Her guards would take care of the rest.

"It's interesting," he continued, moving from fiddling with his gloves to smoothing out the wrinkles of his trousers. He hadn't stopped moving since he had sat down, it was beginning to worry her. She reached out for his hand again, encasing it with both of her own. She pretended not to notice when he winced and shuddered at her touch. He would be over that soon enough; tomorrow they would be wed and he would be hers forever.

He would learn to love her, everyone else had.

"Are you feeling well dear?" She asked, genuinely concerned for his well-being. It wouldn't do to have him falling ill so close to the wedding. That would certainly set more than a few alarm bells off. "You are turning a little green around the edges," she paused, considering her next words. "Perhaps you should go rest, we want you to be at your best tomorrow." She smiled, patting his hand once before releasing it. It was phrased as a request, but the soldiers standing at either side knew it was an order and moved to escort him out.

He smiled wanly at her, relieved for the reprieve from her presence. She knew his skin must be crawling from being in close contact with her for hours, and she delighted in it, feeling like she was avenging the part of her that had once been in love with him. He stood gracefully and bowed to her. "Until tomorrow, your majesty." As neatly as any of her soldiers, he turned on his heel, striding out like he was the one in command.

She watched him go, a smirk on her face. "General Beatrix." She said casually, not even twitching an eyelid as the woman appeared by her side.

"Yes your majesty?"

"Make sure he returns to his quarters."

"Yes your majesty."

* * *

Prince Zidane sighed as he walked towards the royal apartments, mind wheeling with thoughts of how to escape the situation he had found himself in. It was like he had stepped out of real life onto the stage. His fiancee had taken an about face turn in personality, going from a sweet girl he could see tolerating for the rest of his life to something... Well, he wasn't quite sure what had happened to her, but something had.

She had killed her mother, taken control of the country and was currently aiming for dominating the entire continent. Before he had left Lindblum he had heard of the Alexandrian armies advancing on Burmecia, and upon arriving he had discovered proof. If he refused to marry her, their countries would go to war, and if he did marry her, something bad was going to happen. He could feel it down to his very soul.

"Your highness." He nearly jumped out of his skin when General Beatrix's voice rang out behind him, having stopped in the middle of the walkway as he thought. He turned to face her, trying not to look like he was plotting his escape. She regarded him coolly, a faint smile on her face.

"Her majesty has asked that I ensure you return to your quarters." Her voice was calm and each word said carefully. "She hasn't ordered me to make sure you stay there," she said helpfully, watching his expression change from chagrin to surprise. She offered her arm and he took it gladly, allowing her to lead him back.

"If you go down the stairs and to the right from here, I believe you'll find a group of men willing to take you away from here without involving Lindblum." Beatrix commented as they walked over the bridge separating the Queen's quarters from the rest of the castle. Zidane glanced at her, one eyebrow raising in a decidedly non-royal gesture.

"What?" He began to say, but was silenced by her elbow 'accidentally' connecting with his ribs. She smiled at him, walking him to his door and watching him step in. She didn't say anything when he stepped right back out, instead she bowed at him and walked out to distract the guards from his 'escape'.

* * *

"Uh, this doesn't look like the way to the bathroom." The young black mage stated, trailing after his red mage teacher as she stalked confidently through the palace, supposedly searching for a restroom. She glanced at him, red eyes dancing with amusement.

"That's because it's not," she said, more entertained than she should be at her student's confusion. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, adjusting her hat as she scanned the hallways for guards. "Good, I didn't think we'd get this far without any trouble."

"Miss Skyvra..." The black mage was obviously not trying to whine, just divine what craziness his teacher was walking them into now. The newly dubbed Skyvra grinned.

"Yes Vivi?"

"I don't think they agree with you." He pointed and she followed, blinking. Two guards had been hiding in the shadows doing something that she wouldn't let Vivi figure out until he was older. They drew their swords, ready to protect their castle with their lives.

Skyvra looked at them and then shrugged, snapping her fingers once. Before they could even blink, the guards were encased in a foot of solid ice. "You know what they say," she commented to her young ward, "can't rescue a prince without breaking a few heads."

"I don't think anyone says that," Vivi said, gripping his staff tight as Skvyra kicked the ice a few times to make sure it was solid, then walked off whistling as if she hadn't done anything at all.

* * *

"What do we do if the Prince doesn't come this way?" The silver-haired thief/actor asked, leaning against the castle wall as they waited. His partner in crime sighed, shaking his head.

"Relax Kuja, he'll come." The redhead, known to the world as 'Blank' stated confidently, tearing his eyes away from the hallway long enough to glare at his 'brother'. "If he doesn't, we'll get him before the play ends."

"If I'm not mistaken, I believe the two of you are looking for me?" A smooth, cultured voice interrupted, making them jerk in surprise. While Blank had been talking, the Prince had walked up. He was exactly what they had been expecting, a black clad noble with long blonde hair, more suited to a life of leisure than thievery. If he knew how to use a weapon, it was only recreational.

Kuja made a show of studying him for a moment, Zidane stared back. He wasn't impressed, but he knew that one couldn't judge a book by its cover, even if it was clad in last year's fashion and purple to boot. His teacher had taught him that, like Dr. Tot had formerly taught the Princess, she had taught him. Of the two, her lessons were probably more practical.

"We're here to kidnap you." The silver-haired thief announced in a manner eerily similar to Zidane's aforementioned teacher. He blinked at him, tilting his head to the side. Before he could think of responding to that, someone behind them spoke:

"Who is here to kidnap who?" The voice was female and very familiar, Zidane turned to find his teacher smirking at him, hands on her hips. Behind her lurked a small black mage child, likely the new student she had mentioned in her last letter. He sighed, turning back to the men who were just as confused as he would have been if he didn't know here.

"I thought you said we were lost," a quiet voice said, followed by the sound of a high-heeled boot connecting with someone's foot and a small yelp. Kuja and Blank exchanged glances, the latter sighing while the former shook his head.

"Can we please get on the airship before someone finds us?" Kuja demanded, scowling. The Prince rolled his eyes as Skyvra grinned at him.

"No worries lovely purple man," shes stated ignoring Kuja's indignant huff."I froze..." she paused, counting them off on her fingers, "... seven of the guards on the way here. No one is looking for us." The two thieves stared at her, Zidane didn't even pretend to be surprised at this.

"Let's hurry." With that, he started walking, Skyvra and Vivi following immediately, Kuja and Blank a little more sedately, on alert for guards chasing the red menace.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am aiming for weekly updates until I catch up with where I got to in the original fic, but I know myself well enough to make no promises. Hope you enjoy~.

"Please allow me a moment to confirm that I am indeed hearing you correctly, your plan of escape is to walk out in front of the entire audience, which includes the Queen and her army, and hope no one notices that you have acquired three more people, two of whom are mages and the other is myself?" Prince Zidane said, tone rising in disbelief with every word. The party stood in the hallway that lead from the central part of the castle to the area currently acting as the theater ship's dock; the Prince stood towards the back while the two actor-thieves stood closest to the lit area. The mages had taken up residence on either side of the center, Skyvra leaning against the wall as her daze darted back and forth between the two sides, Vivi adjusting his hat and gloves nervously.

"Well,"Kuja said, drawing himself up like he was about to unleash holy hell on his Prince, "We were hoping that you had enough sense to change into a disguise before running out to meet us like an witless buffoon." He tilted his chin up in challenge at the last few words, glancing sideways at where Skyvra was watching. "The mages, however, came out of nowhere."

"We do that," Skyvra pointed out with a shrug, looking more amused by the situation than anyone ever should be. Zidane mimicked Kuja's actions before, tail falling out of it's hiding place and thrashing like an angry cat's. Kuja blinked at that, the wind going entirely out of his sails as he stopped and stared.

"How did you plan on entering the royal quarters if I hadn't been directed to meet you? Surely you are aware that..." Zidane began to demand, interrupted by Skyvra clapping her hands together, sparks erupting out from the contact. She smiled, the smile of a monster right before it destroyed someone's home.

"So we all agree this plan is stupid, correct?" Seeing blank looks, she continued: "Then we'll follow a different one. Vivi and I already had our escape alllll planned out. Didn't we?" She waved her hand at her beloved student, indicating that he should speak up. Zidane shot her a look that read 'You have a plan? You? Really?' only with far too many words which she promptly ignored.

"Yes, w-we did, but I don't..." Vivi began, stuttering slightly, about to voice his doubts about the plan. Skyvra slashed a hand through the air, cutting him off.

"See, I told you. You," she pointed at Blank, "Go tell your boss that we'll meet up in Lindblum. You," she pointed at Kuja, "Come with us, we might need your clothes." The three of them stared at her like she had lost her mind while Vivi inwardly quaked at the idea of going over a waterfall. She rolled her eyes skyward, jerking a thumb in the direction of the quickly melting guard before striding off, expecting her orders to be obeyed.

"I..." Blank began, exchanging a look with Kuja, trailing off when he realized he couldn't think of anything to say. As one, they saluted each other, Blank heading to the ship to report and Kuja going after the Prince and the Black Mage, both of whom were a half step behind the deranged red mage.

"Where are we headed?" Zidane had the good sense to ask, eyes glued to the back of Skyvra's head, blue-white hair whipping behind her in her hurry. She glanced back at him, the seriousness in her eyes contrasting with the grin on her lips.

"We're gonna steal a boat!" She announced gleefully.

* * *

"Prin-Your Majesty," Steiner began, hastily correcting himself, kneeling at the side of her throne. Queen Garnet glanced at him, eyes coolly dismissive. "Shouldn't we of the Knights of Pluto be responsible for the Prince's safety instead of General Beatrix?" He had came as quickly as he could have when one of his knights commented on seeing the General escort Zidane back to his quarters. Normally they didn't have anything to do but listen to palace gossip, but with a so to be Consort in the castle, soon they would have a proper job and could prove that men were equal to women and could be trusted.

"You may escort him where ever he wishes after the wedding, but until then, he's in Beatrix's care." Queen Garnet stated, redirecting her attention to the stage. Something dramatic was happening, but she was finding it impossible to care less about what was going on when tomorrow all her plans would come to fruition. Marriage was considered to be an unbreakable bond in the world they currently lived in, and as the female of the relationship, she had all the rights.

"But Your h-Majesty," Steiner protested, looking down. She sighed, studying him for a moment.

"If it really means that much to you, go stand guard in front of his door until it's time for dinner." With a single wave of her hand, Steiner was dismissed.

* * *

"Does anyone else hear something that sounds like a drawer of silverware walking about?" Skyvra asked from the prow of the gondola that took visitors from the castle back to the main town. Kuja and Zidane had been unwillingly zapped into rowing while Vivi made sure no one was following them. The Prince and the thief stopped rowing to look at her, Vivi sighing and slumping over in defeat. "Didn't think so," she sighed, fingers sparking in a threatening manner, Kuja and Zidane exchanged looks and started rowing again.

"We aren't going to get anywhere with this," Kuja said, clearly not happy with being forced into manual labor in a boat that only had two places to travel between. Zidane made a sound of agreement, wondering why he was forced to row with him when it made much more sense to magic the gondola into working. Skyvra had said it was a bonding exercise, and that complainers would be zapped, so he knew better than to complain.

"Sure we are. We just have to go over the waterfall, float through the evil forest, then crash into the west river-bank, get through the ice-caves and we're free because nothing ever happens in Dali." Skyvra explained, tapping the gondola to check whether or not it was sturdy enough to survive that. The older ones could have, but these felt so flimsy that she felt she had better reinforce it with a protect spell. They stopped moving forward again, both men openly gawking at her.

"That's your plan?" Kuja squawked, Zidane couldn't even find his voice. Skyvra glanced at them, coming to the realization that they were moving too slowly and were going to get caught.

"It's a sound plan," she said, nodding once, carefully making her way to the back of the boat. As she passed Vivi, she knocked his hat askew with the same fondness most people would ruffle a child's hair. He toddled past her to sit behind Zidane.

"I told you you wouldn't like it," he muttered quietly, wondering if maybe it would be safer to hide underneath the seat, because the glint in his teacher's eye told him he would not like the next couple minutes.

"Are we ready?" Skyvra called from the back, one hand in the water. Kuja and Zidane exchanged looks, feeling a chill go down their spines.

"Ready for what?" Zidane called back, instinctively dropping the oars to clutch the seat like a lifeline, Kuja mimicked him.

"This!" Suddenly the gondola was forced forward, propelled by a wind spell used creatively. None of them could tell who was screaming: all of them or just one, but it echoed like it was twenty. Knowing that the waterfall was just ahead, with a forest filled with monsters at the bottom just made it worse.


	3. Chapter 3

This wasn't the way Kuja had envisioned dying, not even in his wildest dreams did he imagine plummeting off a cliff on a flimsy gondola propelled by a spell cast by a red mage who should have been committed before she even got this far. The scenario, rescuing a royal person held captive against their will, accidentally taking a fatal hit and inspiring them to greatness in the process, had been considered at length when he was feeling particularly morbid and dramatic. If he was going to die, he might as well do it theatrically and make it into the history books.

Having discarded every bit of dignity he had, he clung to the seat of the gondola, mimicking the Prince and the little boy-mage. Over the red mage's cackling, he could hear someone screaming. It might have been him.

They flew through Alexandria, the further they went, the faster they seemed to get. His entire front half was drenched from the water spilling over the sides, the chill reminding him that he was still alive. The waterfall was directly in front of them, close enough that Kuja could see the edge. For a moment, he couldn't hear anything but the sound of his heart beating, then the wind started roaring and the screaming picked up again, only it was three voices now, not just his own.

One heartbeat, the edge drew closer, two heartbeats, closer still, three, a soft gloved hand groped for his own, squeezing it tightly enough to bruise; he returned the favor gladly. On the fourth beat, they went over then passed the edge of the waterfall, propelled by the wind.

The wind immediately stopped, replaced by the sound of a large amount of water falling all at once. Then for a moment, they glided through the air and for one blissful moment Kuja thought they might make it, then the boat tilted backwards, the back flooding with water -distantly, he registered the red mage spluttering as she was drenched- and they dropped like a stone.

The screaming returned, drowned out by the roar of the wind in his ears. He didn't think it could get any worse, and then he started floating away from the boat, body dragged away from the force of the wind. Eyes wide and skin tingling all over, he glanced at the person he was attached to by the hand. As he did, he came to the realization, like a swift stab through the heart, that this was it. This was how he died.

From the look in the prince's blue eyes, several shades lighter than his own but just as gorgeous, he had come to the same conclusion. For one heartbeat, they stared at each other, then Kuja pulled him forward, determined to make his—to make their last memory a good one. Their faces drew closer and for a moment they shared the same breath. Their lips brushed, not enough to be considered a proper kiss and then, as suddenly as they started, they stopped, hanging in mid-air inches above the boat.

Kuja blinked, seeing the action mirrored by the man in front of him. He blinked again, brain scrambling to make sense of it all. Before he could even adjust to this new situation, they dropped, boat landing in the water with a splash, three wooden thumps sounding out afterward.

Then the laughter started, edging on hysterical. Ass in the air over a gondola seat, face inches away from the prince's own, he realized that he was still alive. It wasn't a comforting revelation

* * *

Always late to the party, Steiner made his way towards the royal chambers, well-polished, but cheaply made armor clanking with every movement he made. The door to the prince's quarters had been left open, which was highly unusual and suspicious. Stomach dropping (he was going to be blamed for this, he knew he was), he approached the door as quietly as he could, peeking around the edge of the doorjamb. For a moment, all he could see was blue. The prince had his quarters decorated with his favorite color, ordering that every bit of the stone that made up the castle to be covered with fabric. They had thought he was crazy, but did it anyway, but Steiner was now noticing that it was warmer in the Prince's room than it was in the rest of the castle.

"Your highness?" He called out, frantically looking about just in case he had missed the prince's black-clad figure lurking in a corner somewhere, or under the bed. A man could hope. His only answer was silence.

Then he heard it. The screaming, the roar of a wind spell used in a way it was not intended to be used.

He knew it.

He was out of a job.

* * *

Vivi picked himself up from where he had fallen, gloved hands clenching at the wood. The boat shuddered beneath him and he felt like he might fall again. He, like everyone else, was soaked to the bone, which was a relief because he thought he might have peed his pants when they went over the waterfall. He glanced around nervously, eyes immediately drawn to his teacher. She was standing exactly where she had been before she had cast the spell, her arms wrapped around herself as she laughed so hard there were tears in her eyes.

Time slowed to a stop and his chest started to ache when he realized her laughter might be directed at him and the embarrassing thing that had happened in his pants. Then he glanced at the other two and a giggle escaped before he could stop it. Eyes wide, he bit his lip and glanced back to Skyvra. Somewhere between the first and second look she had stopped laughing and was smiling at him fondly, a devious glint in her red eyes.

He ducked his head down, pulling the brim of his hat down so she couldn't see his face. Whenever she had that look in her eye, the next thing out of her mouth was usually something that made him wish he had never accepted her as a teacher. "Is everything intact?" She called, laughter bubbling up from the back of her throat. He peeked out from under the brim to make sure she wasn't talking to him. Her eyes were on the prince and the silver-haired man who had unwillingly tagged along with them.

"Shut up." The prince snapped, detaching himself from the other man and pushing himself to his feet. His face was oddly flushed. Vivi assumed he had also peed his pants as well and didn't want anyone to know. The other man groaned, mimicking the prince's actions, shooting a glare in Teacher's direction when he was on his feet.

"You did that on purpose," he accused, scowling like she had 'accidentally' set him on fire, tripped him on top of a stairwell and then mocked him for falling and flailing. Vivi had personally borne witness to this and the shouting afterward, so he was pretty confident that that was the same expression.

Teacher looked at him, expression falling blank in the way that meant she was the most amused a person could be by these events. "Of course I did," she admitted, not betraying a single hint of the emotion she felt. Her accuser blinked, tilting his head to the side as he carefully regarded her, eyes narrowing. He opened his mouth to say something back, but before a single syllable could escape his mouth, the gondola shattered into a million pieces beneath them, dropping them into the river.

"Well, this just became a little more interesting." Teacher announced, wringing out her blue-white hair.

"If by interesting, you mean difficult." The Prince snapped back, looking like he would rather eat a bug than be here right now. Vivi sighed, slumping forward in defeat.

The universe must have really hated him today.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fixing those gaping plot holes shown in the first chapter -that's just the way it started and I was too lazy to change it-. I meant to have this up last week, but I was dragged off to an event I just couldn't turn down last Sunday and didn't finish writing the chapter. A trend that has sadly continued because of surprise!family visit.

Just in case he had missed something, Steiner looked over the entirety of the Prince's apartment, peeking into every nook and cranny he could find. So far his hopes that the prince had accidentally turned himself into something or shrunk himself were being dashed against every rock from here to Treno. He even dared to stick his head into the Prince's personal bathing area, hiding his flush with the visor of his helmet.

While he had discovered enough about his highness to keep even the worst gossiper satisfied for months, he hadn't seen even a hint of where he might have gone. Everyone knew that the Prince didn't want to be here, it was obvious in the way he held himself and the distance he kept between him and the Princess when he had a choice in the matter. Beatrix frowned whenever her highness-her majesty touched him. The gossip mill was firmly in the belief that she was half in love with the Prince herself, but Steiner couldn't bring himself to believe that.

Even if her heart wasn't the block of ice Steiner envisioned it to be, her heart beat only for Alexandria and her queen. Only in the wildest imagination would she ever show mercy to an enemy, which was what the Prince was in her eyes and would be until he married their Queen. Not even Her Majesty's death had swayed her, which Steiner personally found admirable.

He wouldn't allow himself to be swayed either. Squaring his shoulders, he marched out of the room, inwardly praying to himself that the commotion before had nothing to do with the Prince's disappearance. Beatrix was the one who had escorted him there, and had left before his soon to be personal guard could make sure he stayed there. Or at least, that's what he quietly told himself, knowing that the blame would rest entirely on the Knights of Pluto, never the flawless Beatrix.

He clanked through the halls, noting the lack of patrolling guards with a sinking heart. There was trouble and he had spoken up too late to protect the Prince from whatever had happened to him. From the moment he had spotted Beatrix speaking with those-those actors, he had had a terrible feeling. He had just knew that something was going to go wrong.

Over the clatter of his armor, he heard someone talking. "... was a red mage. The General said it was a right of passage, steal a boat, go over the waterfall. If she lived she'll show up in Dali." As he turned the corner, he saw two soldiers huddled in the corner, whispering among themselves. They glanced at him as he passed, wrinkling their noses up and looking away.

They continued to whisper as he walked out of sight."I heard the Prince was with her," she said, glancing at his back as his pace slowed to a crawl. If the information the rumor mill was spilling was correct, he could skip the lecture, walk to Dali and retrieve the Prince before anyone even knew he was gone.

He spun about on his heel, the clank echoing on the stone floor and headed to commandeer a boat of his own.

* * *

The boat splinted into a million pieces beneath them, dropping them into the ice cold water. Zidane fell, dragged down by the weight of his garments. Heart beating wildly, he struggled to remove his heavy coat, feeling the burn from holding his breath while panicking. Bubbles escaped from his nose and he gulped down a mouthful of water before finally freeing himself. He swam up, kicking furiously towards the surface.

The edges of his vision turned black and just when he thought all was lost, a red-nailed hand broke through the surface of the water, grabbed him by the hair and yanked him up. He sputtered, coughing up a mixture of mucus and water into the air, pain shooting from his sinuses. For a moment, all he could do was cough, anchored by the hand on his head. Finally he came to his senses and glanced up to thank his savoir.

Skyvra stood on top of the water, having had enough of a warning to cast a spell on herself but not on the other three. She was half-bent over, her hand tangled in his wet hair. She was staring at him when he looked up, one white-blue eyebrow raised in question.

"I'm alright," he reassured her, treading water as best as he was able now that he wasn't burdened with the heavy greatcoat Garnet had insisted on making him wear. He raised one hand to detach her hand from his head -her grip on his hair was starting to hurt-, but was unable to summon the strength to do more than grasp at her wrist.

Beside him, the silver haired man that had accompanied them mimicked his actions of a minute ago, head popping above the water far more gracefully than he had. As soon as he noticed that Zidane was not drowning anymore, he shot a displeased glare at him.

"Could you not," he began, tone haughtily superior, ignoring the look both Skyvra and Zidane were giving him, "...Drown before I return you to Lindblum. We were getting paid for this." Zidane was barely able to hear the last part over the roar of the water. He probably wasn't meant to hear it, so he ignored it, instead glancing back up at his teacher.

She hadn't moved, hand still gripping his hair tightly as she focused on a point on the river bank, far out of Zidane's line of sight. He squeezed her wrist lightly, trying to get her attention. With her other hand, she waved him off, releasing him to stand up and stare, fisted hands on her hips.

"What?" The little black mage who Zidane had just noticed was clinging to Skyvra's ankle began to say, kept afloat by the same magic that was keeping Skyvra above water. As he said the first word, a wave of water splashed over his head, he spluttered, spitting out water. "Do," he coughed as Skyvra tilted her head to watch him. Zidane swam over, the tips of his toes finally brushing against the bottom of the river, bracing the little boy as much as he was able. "You see?" The words came out in a rush as he gasped, switching from clinging to Skyvra's boot to Zidane, arms wrapping around his neck.

Zidane watched Skyvra regarded them for a moment, hands still on her hips, then redirected her gaze to the forest again. Her brow wrinkled together as she scanned the brush. Hearing splashing, Zidane turned his head to watch the silver haired man swim over to them.

"It's nothing," Skyvra insisted when he reached them, face smoothing out as she reached down and pulled the trio above the water. Zidane blinked as his skin tingled, and suddenly they were standing on top of the river instead of in it. She released him, leaving him standing there in the middle of the river as she stalked to the opposite bank.

Zidane blinked again, awkwardly setting the kid down on top of the water, patting his head once before following after his teacher. He assumed that she didn't know where she was going, it was safer that way, but she had a better idea than they did. The other two exchanged a look behind him, both adjusting their gloves before following.


End file.
